"I will carry that cold, dark day with me always. The hole in my heart is everlasting," Grogg said in a video for the fire-safety awareness group, Common Voices.

The cause of the fire was determined to be an electrical problem, and a dry 15-foot Christmas tree fueled the flames. The tree was scheduled to be removed the next day.

"Smoke detectors were state-of-the-art and connected to the alarm system. The house was built like a veritable fortress, but no one made it out alive," Grogg said, adding that the home didn't have sprinklers. She urged anyone building a new house to include them.